China searchers find body of missing U.S. pilot

BEIJING -- Divers have found the body of a missing U.S. stunt pilot whose plane crashed into a lake in northeast China while attempting a tricky maneuver in the rain, the head of the team searching for him said Friday.

David Riggs, whose U.S. pilot’s license had been suspended, had been missing since Tuesday’s accident outside the city of Shenyang in which his Chinese translator died. Riggs was in China to take part in an air show and was apparently rehearsing one of his tricks when the accident occurred.

Zhang Fang said Riggs’ body was found during a search of the bottom of Lake Caihu by divers from the Beihai Rescue Bureau.

“It’s likely he was killed on impact, but we don’t know for sure yet,” Fang said.

Riggs’ high-performance single-engine Lancair 320 plane broke into pieces after hitting the lake, and some parts had been recovered, including one of its two seats. The cause of the accident remains under investigation. The plane was not equipped with a “black box” recorder because of its small size.

Zhang said Riggs crashed while attempting a stunt in which the wheels of his plane were to drag along the lake surface at high speed. He had just taken off in a light rain, but there was no indication he had violated any flying regulations, Zhang said.

Riggs was a well-known Hollywood stunt pilot and the center of considerable controversy over a string of legal problems. His website touts his credentials as a holder of several aviation speed world records, but it doesn’t mention the fact his U.S. pilot’s license had been suspended twice.

The first time was after buzzing the famed Santa Monica pier in Los Angeles in his Vodochody L-39 Albatros jet trainer. Riggs was sentenced to 60 days of community service and 60 days in jail for reckless flying.

He lost his license again in November for selling rides in his plane without permission. The prosecution came after a plane piloted by a business partner crashed, killing both people on board.

Riggs had a stack of other legal problems, including convictions for bank, wire and passport fraud. He aroused such contempt among some pilots that a website — aviationcriminal.com — was devoted to chronicling his misdoings.

His website describes him as a “Hollywood stunt pilot, movie producer and world aviation speed record holder.” It said his aerial performances had featured in movies and television shows including “Iron Man,” “Jarhead” and the James Bond film “Casino Royale.”

Join thousands of azcentral.com fans on Facebook and get the day's most popular and talked-about Valley news, sports, entertainment and more - right in your newsfeed. You'll see what others are saying about the hot topics of the day.